2nd June 2004

St Giles Hospice’s volunteers have won royal recognition for their unstinting efforts in supporting the hospice’s care of local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

The charity’s unsung heroes have been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The Award recognises the vital role played by groups of volunteers nationwide, who regularly devote their time to helping others in the community, improving the quality of life and opportunities for others, and providing an outstanding service.

St Giles Hospice Chief Executive Peter Holliday says: “We are proud and privileged that our dedicated army of almost 900 registered volunteers has been honoured with this prestigious award.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these wonderful people who give their time free of charge to help in a vast array of activities – from assisting with service provision to working in our network of 13 charity shops.

“It is estimated that this donated labour is worth almost £1million to the charity each year. Quite simply, without their contribution, we would be unable to deliver the level of service currently provided.”


The volunteers will be presented with a certificate signed by Her Majesty the Queen and an engraved commemorative crystal for display at the hospice, by the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire James Hawley.

And, in July, three volunteers will attend a special award-winners’ reception, hosted by the Queen, at St James’ Palace.

St Giles Hospice’s volunteers are one of only 110 groups nationwide to receive the award this year.

The team was nominated for the accolade by former Lichfield Mayor Councillor Doris English, together with Head of Sutton Coldfield’s Fairfax School Richard Metcalfe, and member of Tamworth Friends of St Giles Hospice Peter Stinton.

The St Giles volunteers were successfully assessed and short-listed by a high-profile selection panel for the West Midlands region before being passed to the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award Committee for final selection and recommendation to The Queen.

St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering high-quality medical and nursing care for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers.

Patients come from across the hospice’s catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

Care is offered either at the hospice in Whittington or in patients’ own homes across the region, where community nurses have made 6,000 visits over the past twelve months.

The range of high-quality, specialist services are expensive to provide, and the hospice relies heavily on donations and fundraising.